Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. It is in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, just east of Los Angeles International Airport. The Inglewood area was developed following the opening of the Venice–Inglewood railway in 1887 and incorporated as a city on February 14, 1908.
The city is a major hub for professional sports in Southern California, with several teams that have played in Inglewood's venues. The Kia Forum, an indoor arena, opened in 1967 and hosted the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League, and the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association, until the opening of Staples Center in 1999, and remains in use exclusively as a concert venue. Two National Football League teams—the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers—have played at SoFi Stadium since it opened in 2020, which replaced the former Hollywood Park horse racing track. The stadium hosted matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup and will host the opening ceremony of the 2028 Summer Olympics. Barring lease issues with the Rose Bowl, it will host UCLA Bruins football in the future. The Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association began play at Intuit Dome in 2024.
History
The earliest residents of what is now Inglewood were Native Americans who used the Aguaje de Centinela natural springs in today's Edward Vincent Sr. Park (known for most of its history as Centinela Park). Local historian Gladys Waddingham wrote that these springs took the name Centinela from the hills that rose gradually around them, and which allowed ranchers to watch over their herds," (thus the name centinelas or sentinels).
Spanish era
Among the original settlers of Los Angeles in 1781 was the Spanish soldier Jose Manuel Orchado Machado, "a 23-year-old muleteer from Los Alamos in Sinaloa". These settlers were ordered by the officials of the San Gabriel Mission "to graze their animals on the ocean side of Los Angeles in order not to infringe on mission lands." As a result, the settlers, or pobladores, drove some of their cattle to the "lush pasture lands near Centinela Springs", and the first construction there was done by Bruno Ygnacio Ávila, who received a permit in 1822 to build a "corral and hut for his herders." The area that is now Inglewood was divided into two rancho grants: Rancho Sausal Redondo and Rancho Aguaje de la Centinela.
Mexican era
Later, Avila constructed a three-room adobe house on a slight rise overlooking the creek that ran from Centinela Springs all the way to the ocean. According to the LAOkay web site, this adobe was built where the present baseball field is in the park. It no longer exists.
In 1834, Ygnacio Machado, one of the sons of Jose Machado, built the Centinela Adobe, which sits on a rise above the present Interstate 405 (San Diego Freeway) and is used as the headquarters of the Centinela Valley Historical Society. Two years later, YgnacioWaddingham used the spelling Ignacio for both Avila and Machado. was granted the Rancho Aguaje de la Centinela, though this land had already been claimed by Avila.
American era
Daniel Freeman acquired the rancho and was a founder of the Centinela-Inglewood Land Company in 1887, which developed the city. That year it was reported that:
The Centinela-Inglewood Company has put on a four-horse coach between their office and Inglewood, leaving at 9:30 am and returning at 2 pm to carry passengers desiring to see the property. It is understood that arrangements will soon be completed for frequent fast trains between Los Angeles and Inglewood over the California Southern.
Inglewood Park Cemetery, a widely used cemetery for the entire region, was founded in 1905. The city has been home to the Hollywood Park Racetrack from 1938 to 2013, one of the premier horse racing venues in the United States. Fosters Freeze, the first soft serve ice cream chain in California, was founded by George Foster in 1946 in Inglewood. Inglewood was named an All-America City by the National Civic League in 1989 and yet again in 2009 for its visible progress.
The Ku Klux Klan had a presence in Inglewood in the 1920s, with the most notable event being the 1922 raid, the Klan had a chapter in Inglewood as late as October 1931.
Labor unions
Labor troubles became a serious issue during the early years of World War II as local industries supplied the Allies, against the wishes of Communist local union officials. In 1941, the United Auto Workers (UAW) won the election over the International Association of Machinists and represented all the employees at the North American Aviation factory in Inglewood. UAW negotiators demanded a starting pay of 75 cents an hour, plus a 10-cent raise for the 11,000 current employees. The UAW had made a no-strike pledge, but suddenly a wildcat strike on June 4 closed the plant that produced a fourth of the nation's fighter planes. The UAW was unable to get the workers to return, when Washington intervened. With the approval of national CIO leadership, President Franklin Roosevelt sent in the California national guard to reopen the plant. When Germany suddenly invaded the USSR in late June 1941, though, the Communist activists suddenly became the strongest supporters of war production; they crushed wildcat strikes.Max M. Kampelman, The Communist Party vs. the CIO: A Study in Power Politics (1957) pp. 25-27.Robert H. Zieger, The CIO: 1935-1955 (1995) pp 128-130.John Barnard, American Vanguard: The United Auto Workers During the Reuther Years, 1935–1970 (2004) pp 173-176.
African-American influence "No blacks had ever lived in Inglewood", Gladys Waddingham wrote; however, by 1960, "they lived in great numbers along its eastern borders. This came to the great displeasure of the predominantly white residents already residing in Inglewood. In 1960, the census counted only 29 "Negroes" among Inglewood's 63,390 residents. Not a single black child attended the city's schools. Real-estate agents refused to show homes to blacks. A rumored curfew kept blacks off the streets at night. Inglewood was a prime target because of its previous history of restrictions." "Fair housing and school busing were the main problems of 1964. The schools were not prepared to handle racial incidents, even though any that occurred were very minor. Adults held many heated community meetings, since the blacks objected to busing as much as did the whites." In 1969, an organization called "Morningside Neighbors" changed its name to "Inglewood Neighbors" "in the hope of promoting more integration."
On July 22, 1970, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Max F. Deutz ordered Inglewood schools to desegregate in response to a suit filed by 19 parents. At least since 1965, said Deutz, the Inglewood school board had been aware of a growing influx of black families into its eastern areas, but had done nothing about the polarization of its pupils into an eastern black area and a western white one. On August 31, he rejected an appeal by four parents who said the school board was not responsible for the segregation, but that the blacks "selected their places of residence by voluntary choice."
The first black principal among the 18 Inglewood schools was Peter Butler at La Tijera Elementary, and in 1971, the "Stormy racial meetings in 1971" included a charge by "some real estate men in the overflowing Crozier Auditorium" that the Human Relations Commission was acting like "the Gestapo". In that year, Loyd Sterling Webb, president of Inglewood Neighbors, became the first black officeholder when voters elected him to the school board.
In 1972, Curtis Tucker Sr., was appointed as the first black city council member. That year, composer LeRoy Hurte, an African-American, took the baton of the Inglewood Symphony Orchestra and continued to work with it for 20 years. Edward Vincent Jr. became Inglewood's first black mayor in 1983. In that decade, whites left the city in increasing numbers, and Inglewood became the first city in California to declare the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. a holiday. Since the term of Edward Vincent Jr. (1983–1997), Inglewood has consecutively elected African-American mayors: Roosevelt F. Dorn (1997–2010), Danny Tabor (2010–2011), and James T. Butts Jr. (2011–present).
Rise of Latino population The 1990 census showed that Latinos in Inglewood had increased by 134% since 1980, the largest jump in the South Bay. Economic factors apparently played a role in where new arrivals settled, said David Heer, a USC professor of sociology and associate director of the university's Population Research Laboratory. "Housing is generally less expensive here than elsewhere . . . and I would say that they receive a warmer welcome here", said Norm Cravens, assistant city manager in Inglewood, where the white population dropped from nearly 21% in 1980 to 8.5% in 1990.
In the 2000 census, Black Americans made up 47% of the city's residents (53,060 people), and Latinos comprised 46% (51,829), but the Census Bureau estimated that in 2007, the percentage of Black Americans had declined to 41% (48,252) and that Latinos were at 52.5% (61,847). The white population declined from 19 (21,505) to 17.7% (20,853).
That year, though, only one of the city's five city council members was Latino: Jose Fernandez. No Latinos were on the five-member board of education.
Religious history In 2007, the area served by the Inglewood post office (including Lennox) had 98 churches, temples, mosques, chapels and other houses of worship, according to the AreaConnect.com website.
The first church service was held on April 22, 1888, in the Inglewood House hotel on Commercial Street (today's La Brea Avenue), popularly called Mrs. Belden's Boarding House, when Inglewood had only 300 residents and 112 registered voters. Later, services were in Bucephalus Hall, but eventually the congregation moved to Hyde Park, which left Inglewood with no church. On January 19, 1890, Inglewood's first permanent church – Presbyterian – was established on Market Street. A bit later, the [United] Brethren constructed a building on South Market Street.
In 1907, a group of Episcopalians began services in a private home, and a few years later, the first Catholic services were held in Bank Hall. In 1910, the Presbyterians moved their two buildings, a sanctuary and a manse, to the corner of Grevillea and Nutwood "because the streetcars [on Market Street] were so noisy and threw so much dust and sand fleas in the windows."
Trash-hauling pact In 2018, an investigation began into a 2012 trash-hauling contract valued at $100 million; it went to a bidder with connections to current mayor James T. Butts. The bidder, Consolidated Disposal Services, secured the contract soon after hiring Michael Butts, brother of Mayor Butts, as an operations manager. Consolidated continues to provide garbage collection services as of 2023.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of . Downtown Inglewood is from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). It is part of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metropolitan statistical area.
Neighborhoods Inglewood consists of 10 neighborhoods that are indicated by symbols on street signs. The neighborhoods are: Morningside Park, Downtown Inglewood, Fairview Heights, Arbor Village, Hollypark Knolls, Centinela Heights, Century Heights, Inglewood Knolls, and Lockhaven.
Crenshaw-Imperial The Crenshaw-Imperial district was a later annexation to Inglewood, California. It has its own branch public library and an important shopping center for the area. (Also see Inglewood Knolls)
Morningside Park